Thailand Bans Surrogacy for Foreigners

The interim parliament in Thailand enacted a new law Thursday that will stop allowing foreign couples to use surrogate mothers in the Southeast Asian kingdom. In the wake of several Thai surrogacy scandals last year, the new law aims to end the growing “rent-a-womb” industry, bans foreigners from soliciting surrogacy services, and requires surrogate mothers to be Thai and over the age of 25. “This law aims to stop Thai women’s wombs from becoming the world’s womb,” Wanlop Tankananurak, a member of Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly, told Reuters. He added the breaking the new law will result in a “severe prison sentence.”